The public prosecutor of Cahors hardens his tone in the face of the abuses of certain hunters in the Lot department.

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Mourad Allili / Sipa

  • Frédéric Almendros, public prosecutor of Cahors, announces that there will be no more alternatives to prosecution in the event of bad behavior during a hunting trip, in the Lot.

  • The magistrate recalls that "it is not a hobby like any other", because "hunters have potentially lethal weapons in their hands".

From a judicial source, the gendarmes recorded some 40 hunting accidents in 2020 in the Lot, double the previous year.

On December 2, Morgan Keane, a 25-year-old chopping wood, died in Calvignac after being shot and beaten.

In this very tense general context, the public prosecutor of Cahors organized a meeting on Monday, to which representatives of the gendarmerie, the prefecture, hunters and the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) were invited.

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this Wednesday, Frédéric Almendros warns: "The behavior of some hunters leaves something to be desired, this is the reason why I have decided to no longer set up alternatives to prosecution and to make systematic criminal responses. .

»No more reminders of the law, penal compositions and other awareness training.

Temporary or permanent license suspensions

"People who commit hunting offenses must know that they may lose their license at least temporarily, even permanently," says the magistrate.

The criminal policy of the Cahors public prosecutor's office is a zero tolerance policy, with systematic referrals to the trial court as soon as there is a suspicion of an offense.

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The Calvignac tragedy aroused excitement far beyond this village of 200 inhabitants, east of the Lot.

But other deviant behaviors justify this policy of greater firmness, according to Frédéric Almendros.

Like chasing wild boars with vehicles, or threatening hikers and mushroom pickers.

The magistrate takes great care not to generalize these offenses, the works of a minority of people, to the whole of a corporation.

“I am neither pro nor anti-hunters, it is not my job,” he says.

But it is not a hobby like any other.

Hunters have potentially lethal weapons in their hands.

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And the actions of some can sometimes involve their colleagues.

“Criminal responsibility is not just the responsibility of the shooters.

In the event of an accident during a beat, the responsibility of the leader of the beat, possibly of the line leaders and the pickers may be engaged.

For its part, the departmental hunting federation has undertaken to offer training to its approximately 7,000 members.

Miscellaneous

Lot: The hunter, alleged perpetrator of a fatal shooting at a 25-year-old, indicted for "manslaughter"

Miscellaneous

Cahors: A wild boar charges and injures two passers-by in the city center

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